Science and national strength

This evening I would direct our attention for a few moments toward a fundamental problem that is the mutual concern of both science and politics. It is the problem that arises from the growing power of the atom as an offensive weapon, and the lack of comparable progress in defensive measures. The continual improvement of nuclear weapons, the increasing potentialities of biological and chemical warfare, have strengthened the potentialities of the offense to such an extent that if it remains unchecked it may soon be capable of destroying our present civilization. To put it bluntly, the United States has acquired a terrific punch with which to meet an all‐out war; but it has at the same time acquired a “glass jaw,” because of its own vulnerability to atomic attack. The problem I would have you consider is this: How can the ideas emerging from science be employed to restore balance between the offensive and defensive capabilities that influence nations in their acts and policies, so that our choices of action are less brutally stark?

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